Ba Gua Zhang Articles
Ba Gua Training Tips #4: Change!Well, it’s been a long time since I was able and motivated to do one of these posts. Newborn babies and all the other vagaries of life have kept me, shall we say, distracted. But, things are starting to settle in around here, and as I’m going to be undertaking a much larger writing project [...]
Ba Gua Training Tips #3: Engaging the Upper BodyMore Basic Circle Walking
When I last wrote to all of you (far too long ago, I know) we spoke about the Bagua basic walk from the ground up to the legs. This time we will address the rest of you—torso, arms and head. Please refer back to Ba Gua Training Tips #2 if you need [...]
What’s up with the way these Ba Gua guys walk around in circles all the time? As our Xing Yi instructor likes to say, “those guys look like they know what they’re doing, they just don’t have any idea where they’re going.” Well, as usual, he’s half right . Ba Gua walking is a [...]
Ba Gua Training Tips #1: ConditioningNow that we have this wonderful forum to use, I feel obliged to make the most of it. One thing I intend to do regularly is post on subjects directly related to the Gao Ba Gua we teach here at PATHS. I will try to focus on areas that are generally pertinent to any student [...]
So, who would win in a fight, you or ….?A fellow instructor of mine started receiving calls from a prospective student not too long ago. The caller would ask lots of technical and “If I did this… what would you do?” type questions. Said instructor answered these queries as best he could for a while, but at the end always admonished the caller to [...]
Northern Shaolin Articles
Part 4 in a series on Wu De (武德), addresses the various manifestations of Martial Virtue and considers why Martial Arts schools have rules.
Understanding Wu De as Martial VirtuePart 3 in a series on Wu De (武德), goes into more depth of this martial virtue and the martial arts.
What is Wu De?Part 2 in a series on Wu De (武德), Martial Virtue.
Cultivation of Character in Traditional Martial ArtsPart 1 in a series on Wu De, the often misunderstood Cultivation of Character in traditional martial arts.
Is Kung Fu a Martial Art?Yes and No. And yet your Martial art can either have Kung Fu or not.
Technically speaking, the term "Kung Fu", sometimes spelled Kongfu or Kong Fu, comes from the Chinese words 功夫 (gōng fu), and means skill, art, labor, or effort. Put together it means a skill or art derived through labor and effort.
Ever wanted to test yourself at home, but finding it difficult to create more of a random pull for memorizing your martial art techniques?
Me too. But I came up with a cool solution…
Northern Shaolin comes from the Northern part of China, right… So then, what’s with all the Cantonese terminology?
Tan Tui Trapping Hands videoNorthern Shaolin Martial Arts – trapping hands of the Kung Fu variety
Learn how to learn Martial ArtsOriginally written as an article for online Martial Arts magazines, I thought I would share this with our PATHS students and readers. Improving and speeding up your learning of the martial arts.
Xing Yi Articles
The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven.
Sun Tzu
The Art of War
Taijiquan Articles
Six Sealing Four Closing – A video clip and an explanation…
Why Study Chen Style Taijiquan?Why Study Chen Style Taijiquan? There have been many answers to this question since the development of this theoretically simple, yet methodically complex "art of yin and yang."
